The businesswoman María Quevedo suffered fractures in her nose, nearly 80 injuries to her body and part of her scalp detached after an attack that occurred inside a pastry shop in the north of Bogotá.
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The case, which generated outrage in the capital and the country, became publicly known on the afternoon of this Saturday, July 25, after videos from the establishment’s security cameras began to circulate.
Video captured violent attack on woman inside a pastry shop in the north of Bogotá Photo:SOCIAL NETWORKS
In the recordings it is observed that, after a conversation between the owner of the business and an employeethe man punches her in the face causing her to fall to the floor. For just under a minute the attack continues, he drags her by the hair through the premises and hits her again while the woman tries to get up. The situation ended when several people came after hearing the screams and helped the victim.
The EL TIEMPO Investigative Unit identified the aggressor like Jesús Acosta Lizardo, a man with a thick build and 1.76 meters tall who had been hired two weeks earlier to work at the renowned Rü Patisserie pastry shop.
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This newspaper learned that The man was captured by the Police and later presented to the Prosecutor’s Office. Sources from the Bogotá Metropolitan Police confirmed to EL TIEMPO that the incident was under investigation by the Purple Patrol, a unit that deals with cases of gender violence, and that the victim suffered serious injuries and was transferred to receive medical attention at the Reina Sofía Clinic.
The Prosecutor’s Office explains why it charged the aggressor with personal injury: ‘It is a matter of investigation’
Video captured violent attack on woman inside a pastry shop in the north of Bogotá Photo:SOCIAL NETWORKS
In the last few hours it was learned that the man accused of attacking the businesswoman He regained his freedom after the Prosecutor’s Office charged him with the crimes of personal injury and damage to other people’s property.
The capture occurred after the events that occurred on the night of Thursday, July 23 and, subsequently, on Friday he was released, as these were conducts that, preliminarily, do not contemplate a custodial security measure.
Faced with the controversy generated by that decision, the Attorney General’s Office issued a statement on Sunday, July 26, in which He explained the actions taken since he became aware of the case. The prosecuting entity reported that it arranged the support of its gender group to carry out an assessment with that approach and that, as part of the process, “different judicial police activities are carried out with the purpose of analyzing the facts in a broader context.”
The entity also confirmed that the victim was granted protection measures. In addition, he pointed out that at a work table it was ordered to validate the preliminary opinion of Forensic Medicine, which initially indicated that No vital organs had been compromised.
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“This verification will be carried out based on the clinical history of the hospital center where the victim was treated, in order to corroborate whether he had more serious injuries than those initially identified,” the statement said, noting that this will helpdetermine “if a variation of the crime that is currently the subject of investigation is appropriate.”
The Prosecutor’s Office added that it ordered new judicial police proceedingsincluding interviews with residents of the area where the attack occurred, to expand the evidentiary material. Likewise, he reiterated that, in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, the crimes that are preliminarily the subject of investigation, including personal injuries and damage to the property of others, do not provide for a security measure, which is why the captured person was released and “continues linked to the process through a commitment to appear, while the investigation progresses.”
Video captured violent attack on woman inside a pastry shop in the north of Bogotá Photo:SOCIAL NETWORKS
Regarding the progress of the investigation, this Monday, July 27, sources from the Prosecutor’s Office responded to EL TIEMPO on the possibility of modifying the imputation. As they indicated, apparently, this “is not going to change. Those are injuries.”
They explained that “the crimes are stipulated in the Penal Code” and that “attempted feminicide has certain requirements and they are not met here,” so they insisted that “Prosecutors rely on the Colombian penal code” to make these types of decisions.
The same sources added that “Injuries are stipulated as a reconcilable crime and have no exclusive measures.” They also pointed out that “the Penal Code is clear with each crime” and maintained that, even if an accusation of attempted feminicide were formulated, “They can accuse him, but in court a judge overturns that.”
The discussion on the classification of the case takes place within the framework of the Law 1761 of 2015, known as the Rosa Elvira Cely Law, which created feminicide as an autonomous crime in Colombia.
This norm establishes that anyone who causes the death of a woman “due to her status as a woman or due to her gender identity” when certain circumstances occur.
Among them are that there exists or has existed a “family, intimate or cohabitation relationship with the victim, friendship, companionship or work and being the perpetrator of a cycle of physical, sexual, psychological or patrimonial violence that preceded the crime against her”; that there are acts “of gender or sexual instrumentalization or actions of oppression and domination over their vital decisions and sexuality”; that the crime is committed taking advantage of power relations “exercised over women, expressed in personal, economic, sexual, military, political or sociocultural hierarchy”; that there is a history or indication of violence or threats in the workplace, family or home environment; or that the victim has been held incommunicado “or deprived of his freedom of movement.”
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The same law also establishes rules for the investigation of these cases. Article 8 provides that, “in cases of clear evidence or well-founded suspicion of perpetration of a feminicide or attempted feminicide,” investigations “must be initiated ex officio and carried out immediately and exhaustively“by specialized personnel and with the necessary resources to identify those responsible, prosecute them and seek their punishment.
Victim requests that the classification of the crime be changed: the harsh story of the attack
Video captured violent attack on woman inside a pastry shop in the north of Bogotá Photo:SOCIAL NETWORKS
For her part, María Quevedo, owner of the pastry shop, requested that the case be investigated as an attempted femicide. In interview with Blu Radio eThis Monday, July 27, she stated that she is convinced of that legal qualification.
“I am completely sure,” she assured and explained that, as seen in the security videos, the man “hits me at the door of the establishment and then takes me to the back, hides me, where no one can see, where no one can hear what is happening and hits me.”
In the midst of the aggravating circumstances, the businesswoman considered the man’s screams during the attack on the worker. In this regard, she indicated that the accused told her: “I’m going to kill you, damn it, I’m going to kill you.”
He also maintained that he only managed to end the attack when he decided to kick a shelf with glassware to alert those who were nearby.. “Otherwise, this man hits me and hits me and I would surely be dead,” she said. He added that “this is an attempted femicide” and maintained that, if no one had intervened, “my family would be crying right now that an employee beat me to death.”
In the middle of her statements, the victim questioned whether the worker regained his freedom after his capture. He stated that “the police did an excellent job” in arresting him, but regretted that “on Friday at four in the afternoon he was released because the prosecutor determined that it was personal injury and not an attempted femicide.”
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The victim also revealed that before the attack she had engaged in behavior that made her uncomfortable. She noted that the subject made comments about her appearance and sought to physically touch her.
“You are very pretty,” he remembered saying to her. He added that on the night of the events he asked: “Don’t touch me, don’t come close to me, I don’t like you to touch me, you don’t have to touch me, please respect my space.” As he stated, “more than a matter of money, I believe that the man had something crossed because of this brake that I put on him at that moment.”
The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, also spoke about the judicial decision. In his X account he wrote: “It is inexplicable that this man has been released.”
He pointed out that, although the Ministry of Security and the Police acted in a timely manner and the aggressor was captured, “this decision is unacceptable and puts the victim at clear risk.” Furthermore, he requested “that the criminal offense of personal injury be changed to attempted feminicide”that a security measure be imposed and that the defendant’s previous notes be reviewed.
“The aggressor must be in jail and all decisions must prioritize the protection of the victim,” he added.
LAURA NATHALIA QUINTERO.
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